...De Beers' Multifaceted Strategy Shift Faced with such challenges as new sources of competition and suspicion about conflict diamonds, Gareth Penny had to rethink the basics A diamond may be forever, as De Beers' famous advertising slogan contends, but is the same true of a business model? That was the question facing Gareth Penny, managing director of De Beers, in the late 19'90s, when the famed diamond cartel found itself beset by a series of events that ultimately forced it to examine and then retool its business strategy. Since the company was founded in 1888, De Beers followed a strategy of supply control. In addition to mining its own diamonds, it bought diamonds from other producers and had what it called the "central selling organization," controlling some 90% of the world's diamonds. Its tight control over such a vast amount of supply enabled De Beers to keep prices high for a commodity that is neither particularly scarce nor useful. If a competitor offered diamonds on the market outside of De Beers' central selling organization, De Beers would simply flood the market with similar stones, thus eliminating any pricing power the competitor might offer. By the end of the 1990s, the business model of controlling supply and managing how much of its inventory went to market at any time was no longer effective: New sources of diamonds were discovered in sufficient quantity that they could be sold competitively outside of De Beers' central selling organization. Demand for...
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...n previous years De Beers owned a key resource for diamond production – mines. The monopoly’s power stemmed from the company’s ability to collect the world’s rough diamonds and send them out again, anonymously and bereft of origin. Because of turmoil which the company was facing on all fronts: illegal flow of diamonds from Sierra Leone and Angola, Russia’s diamond fiefdoms, etc; the formerly closely-held corporation had to undergo some rapid changes. Today De Beers maintains its monopoly power through marketing activities such as active advertising, e.g. the millennial campaign which was the company’s first attempt to brand gems, to sell a “De Beers diamond” rather than a regular diamond. De Beers tries to remove substitutes for its product and to make it unique in order to increase its market power. The possible substitutes for diamonds can be emeralds, rubies and sapphires. If people view them as diamond’s substitute, De Beer’s market power will be relatively little. On the other hand, if the company tries to increase the price for its product, some people can switch to other gemstones. That’s why De Beer’s makes so much effort to distinguish its product from any others and to support its image of a scarce and unique product. De Beers supports a symbiotic relationship between production and sales. The formation of a single marketing channel contributed to the diamonds price increase. In the past two and a half decades, rough diamonds have out-performed commodities such as...
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...DeBeers “A Diamond is Forever” Prepared April 16, 2012 For decades, De Beers has been the preeminent name in diamonds. Thanks to a stockpile of the world's rough diamond supply, indelible marketing schemes and even negotiations with foreign governments for their diamonds, De Beers has been the most important name in one of the world's most lucrative businesses for almost a century. This paper will review the billion dollar rise and fall of a monopoly that has crushed competitors and cash-strapped governments since the 1800s. Diamonds became a symbol of love thanks to De Beers, which is fitting, since De Beers became what it is today because of a love story: the love of money. In the beginning, the diamond trade took place mostly in India and Brazil. With the discovery of diamonds in South Africa, the trade simultaneously took off and became much less profitable. Up until the mid-1800s, diamonds were a rarity and could be seen only on the hand of a monarch. But the diamond rush that began in South Africa in the second half of the 19th century flooded the market with diamonds, killing demand. It would take some ingenious plotting and advertising to keep the diamond's reputation as intrinsically valuable and desirable, which is where De Beers comes in (Goldschein, 2011). Company History and Overview De Beers got its start when English-born businessman Cecil Rhodes, broke into the diamond business in South Africa by renting water pumps to miners before buying diamond fields...
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...Case study De Beers- An Ethical Idealism “At De Beers there has always been a clear recognition that, while our primary purpose as a business shapes what it is that we do, it is how we work that defines who we are.” -Nicky Oppenheimer Executive Chairman, De Beers Introduction For generations, diamonds have been marketed as tokens of power and love. For some however, diamonds have a more utilitarian appeal. Easily concealed, immensely valuable and largely untraceable, stones from rebel-held mines have raised billions of dollars on world markets to finance revolution in Angola, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). For years these "conflict diamonds" have encourage rebel leaders to arm and equip their armies in violation of UN weapons and financial sanctions. Diamond monopoly De Beers is notable for its monopolistic practices throughout the 20th century, whereby it used its dominant position to control the international diamond market. The company used several techniques to exercise this manipulation over the market: Firstly, it persuade independent producers to join its single channel monopoly, it flooded the market with diamonds similar to those of producers who refused to join the cartel, and lastly, it purchased and stockpiled diamonds produced by other manufacturers in order to price control through supply. In 2000, the De Beers forced to change the model, due to certain unavoidable factors such as the decision by producers in Russia,...
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...DE BEERS De Beers is a market maker in the diamond industry as it acts as a liaison between the producers and retailers of diamonds. It captured and coordinated the market of distribution of diamond production through a reliable and stable stream of quality diamonds. DeBeers has been a highly successful and effective controller of the diamond market, having developed a unique purchasing and marketing cartel that has influenced prices in the market for almost a century. Since the company was founded in 1888, De Beers followed a strategy of supply control. In addition to mining its own diamonds, it bought diamonds from other producers controlling about 90% of the world's diamonds. The United States was far and away the world’s biggest purchaser of diamonds accounting for 46% of total demand followed by the Middle East with 12% and Japan with 9%. De Beers has advertised, for a long time, using the caption ‘A diamond is forever’, does the same apply for De Beers’ business model and strategy? Over 80% of the world’s diamonds were traded through the De Beers CSO until 1990s. De Beers’ tight control and regulation over a vast amount of supply and optimization of the timing of release through the CSO enabled it to keep prices high for diamonds successfully creating a notion that diamonds are scarce. The CSO served as a clearinghouse for the entire industry. Suppliers were forced to sign an exclusivity requirement with the CSO. It regulated the quantity and price in the market...
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...Introduction In this paper I will be explaining how the diamond company manufacturing and importing company, De Beers, violated US antitrust laws in an effort to become the most sort after monopoly in the diamond manufacturing and importing industry. I will also be discussing how De Beers maintained their monopolistic power. Violation of Antitrust Laws De Beers was investigated for antitrust behavior because the company ended up violating antitrust laws. They violated antirust laws by importing and exporting diamonds from countries they were prohibited from buying diamonds from such as Sierra Leone. Also they purchased products from “outside producers” (Bates, 2) which were “BHP, Rio Tinto, and Alrosa” (Bates 2). Also De Beers was largely behind fixing the price of rough diamonds in order to make increase their profits and take away from other diamond companies. Pecuniary and Nonpecuiniary costs The antitrust act that was violated was the Sherman Act. Under the Sherman Act companies are prohibited from conducting any type of acts that would help to destroy healthy competition. There were several pecuniary and nonpecuiniary costs associated with antitrust behavior of the De Beers Company. Their actions cost other diamond companies millions of dollars so a settlement of “300 million”(Bates, 1) was greater to other diamond companies who substantiated a loss. Monopoly versus Oligopoly I believe that a monopoly can be bad for society...
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...rhinestones. Actually, diamond might be worthless without its traditional image of romance. 钻石市场供大于求。世界上钻石的供给量，一直都超过它的需求，按照经济学供需规律，钻石应该会跌价，变得很便宜才对。但是，戴比尔斯通过持续买进市场上多余的钻石，来维持它的高价，估计到目前为止，戴比尔斯已囤积了价值超过百亿美元的钻石了。戴比尔斯还能支撑多久，还能持续买进多少市场上的钻石，没人能回答。 In diamond market, supply always exceeds demand. According to economic rules, the price will finally drop. However, De Beers have controlled and manipulated the price by continuously purchasing the stockpiles of diamond that come from other competitors. The price of which, has amounted to more than $10 billion up till now. How long can De Beers last and how much diamonds can they buy? No one knows. 天价打造的“浪漫形象”。戴比尔斯在世界钻石市场的成功，可以说是一个近乎达到垄断的完美范例。它一方面总能刺激市场对钻石的需求，另一方面则减少钻石供给，即使在1955年通用公司（GE）研究实验室宣布发明了人造钻石后，戴比尔斯公司仍能成功维持钻石的高价完美形象。事实上，戴比尔斯公司每年花在广告上的费用多达1.6亿美元，不断传递着“Diamonds are Forever”的信息，持续钻石浪漫的传奇。 They has put much emphasis as well as financial resources on preserving the romantic image of diamonds. To be frank, De Beers spends as high as $160million in advertising every year, continuously conveying the idea of ‘Diamonds are Forever’ to us and make diamond a legend of romance. The success of De Beers in diamond industry is almost a perfect illustration for market monopoly. They stimulates the demand for diamonds on one side and decrease the supply on the other side. Even after the...
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...De Beers Diamond Company Social Performance of Organizations Business 475 August 4, 2014 De Beers Diamond Company De Beers is a multinational privately owned diamond mining company established in 1888 by Cecil Rhodes. The company specializes in trading and manufacturing diamonds. Rhodes invested capital made from renting water pumps to miners and started buying mining claims. Rhodes knew the acquirement was on an untapped market. He purchased diamond fields owned by two brothers named “De Beer.” He even began purchasing from his rival Barney Barnato. The Rothchild family, Ernest Oppenheimer and JP Morgan were some of the companies first financial partners, their investments helped expand the business. By 1902 De Beers controlled 90% of the world’s diamond production. Ernest Oppenheimer, a rival diamond producer, owned the production company (Anglo American Corporation). Oppenheimer essentially bought his way onto the De Beers board of directors. In 1927, he became the chairman. Under his leadership, De Beers began making exclusive deals with its suppliers and buyers; this strategy made it impossible to have transactions with other companies and quickly became monopolized. De Beers is known for maintaining a strong hold on the industry and for absorbing its competitors by using it’s dominate position in the diamond industry. De Beers has been implicated in multiple scandals that involve price fixing and antitrust behaviors. There have been revolts against...
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...De Beers and the Conflict Diamonds De Beers is the most recognizable name in the diamond industry and since it was established in 1888 by Cecil Rhodes; the company have been linked to the “blood diamond” trade because for a long time they had the control of supply and demand of the diamond industry. De beers dominated the diamond market for the best part of the 20th century, but the creation of synthetic diamonds and the discovery of new diamond deposits in other countries have created new challenges and De Beers have been obligated to deviate from their traditional ways of doing business. Q1. The diamond industry is exclusive in comparison to other industries because of the nature of their product. Diamonds are unique and the competitive rivalry is limited to only a few producers. The diamond industry has been able to create a high demand of their product because they have the ability to control the supply. Other industries such as electronics and technology face stiff competition and do not have the ability to control the market as the diamond industry does. Industries other than the diamond industries offer a great deal of alternatives for their services and products, but when it comes to the diamond industry; the alternatives are somewhat limited. While other industries struggle to stay afloat; the diamond industry continues to grow and presents an attractive opportunity for investors. Q2. I believe that anyone or any company that purchase conflict diamond has no regards...
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...Forever: De Beers at the Millennium – Study Questions 1. Who writes the rules of the international diamond market? How are they enforced? * De Beers and the other diamond companies of the their time and specifically the Central Selling Organization (CSO) and the government partners where they are mining (?) * Their sorting process and the which went through many different grades that measured the 4 Cs: carat, color, clarity, and cuttability (?) 2. How has De Beers structured its relationship with the U.S. diamond dealers and the U.S. government? Are these relationships sustainable? * Most expensive stones were cut and polished in New York. The U.S. was the biggest market for De Beers. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the largest, most respected nonprofit institute in its field, had developed the widely-used D-Z color scale and the Flawless-I3 clarity scale for polished diamonds. De Beers had irked U.S. authorities by failing to appear, in 1994, in a suite by the Department of Justice alleging price-fixing in industrial diamonds in which it was a co-defendant along with General Electric. And socially, the diamond industry began to be criticized for dealing in “conflict diamonds” from African countries. (?) * These relationships cannot be sustainable (?) 3. What should the U.S. government do about the flow of diamonds from Angola, the Congo and Sierra Leone? What should De Beers do? * Continue the fight started by the...
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...De Beers Diamond Company is an industry that currently produces $13 billion worth of rough diamonds each year, leading to the employment of 10 million people globally from mining to retailing. 70% of rough diamonds are sold for industrial purposes with the remaining 30% “gem quality” being distributed to experts for cutting, polishing and jewelry manufacturing (Stein, 2001). The global jewelry market has increased three-fold in the last 25 years and is currently worth $72 billion each year. Jewelry diamonds are unjustifiably expensive given that they are not actually scarce. Upon the discovery of other diamond reserves globally, De Beers set up a subsidiary called the Central Selling Organization (CSO), responsible for buying the production for all mines worldwide then selling the produce to dealers in return for a percentage fee (10 – 20 %) from producers (Stein, 2001). The CSO was able to maintain illusion of scarcity by deciding the quantity of diamonds to be supplied to the world market and in turn, allowing individual producers to produce a certain percentage of that amount (De Beers Group, 2012). De Beers have been connecting with people around the world. With one of the earth’s natural treasures, De Beers has been helping to create countless memorable moments. It takes years of searching, cutting-edge science and sophisticated technology, coupled with traditional mining know-how to find diamonds. They (De Beers Diamond Company) explore in two stages, each supported...
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...Assignment 1: Social Performance of Organizations The De Beers Diamond Corporation Dr. Beth Kane Business 475: Business and Society January 28, 2014 The De Beers Diamond Corporation is a multinational diamond mining, hops, trading, and manufacturing business. In this paper the nature, structure, and types of product this corporation is involved well be analyzed. As with every large corporation stakeholders salient stakeholders are involved with the shaping of the companies direction, three key stakeholders relationships and roles will be evaluated. There are five key points for primary stakeholders wielding influence inside the corporations mainframe and the evidence of this behavior at De Beers. During the building and development of most businesses there are social issues that arise to challenge the structure and integrity of the corporation, De Beers faced this as well. This paper will detail the issue in which De Beers faced as well as the corporate and social changes that were wrought from the situation. This paper will also cover a hypothetical situation were a first person narrative of the roles of forming a stakeholder coalition. During this hypothetical situation the leader role will explore three (3) potential holdups for the the forming of a stakeholder coalition. The De Beers Diamond Corporation is a privately owned multinational conglomerate established in 1888 by Cecil Rhodes. Rhodes invested money made from renting...
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... there are many goals and objectives for the company to fulfill before expanding and growing. These goals and objectives can be large or small for the company. The main reason for them is to have the company grow in the future successfully. For these goals to be achieved, the company needs to implement different strategies to help the company grow as a whole. These strategies will help the company achieve the goals and objectives and also help with any future goals and objectives for other future growth of the company. De Beers Diamond is a private cartel of companies that dominate diamond and the diamond mining industry and also the diamond trading sectors around the world. The founder of De Beers Diamond Company is Cecil Rhodes in 1888 with their headquarters located in Luxemburg. The company serves the entire world for trading and shipping diamonds, but actually the mining is done specifically in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Canada. De Beers Diamond has many top gem and jewelry competitors, which are Tanishq, Nakshatra, Ddamas, Tiffany and Company, and Leviev. The company has been known for being a monopoly over the entire diamond and diamond mining industry, which are usually frowned upon around the world. Another problem with the company is certain controversies that have occurred within the African mining locations. In these locations, there have been many incidences where diamonds are mined and sold for weaponry or for insurgencies, which are usually led...
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...9-700-082 DEBORA SPAR Forever: De Beers and U.S. Antitrust Law Educational material supplied by The Case Centre Copyright encoded A76HM-JUJ9K-PJMN9I Order reference F267708 CoursePack code C-788-275379-STU “As a worldwide dealer in enchanting illusions, Disney has nothing on De Beers.” - The Economist1 In 1999, a series of spectacular advertisements adorned the bus-sides and billboards of major American cities. Set against a lush black background, the ads displayed a perfect set of diamond earrings, or a single sparkling solitaire. The lettering, in white, was sparse and to the point: “What better time to celebrate the timelessness of love?” they asked. Or, “What are you waiting for, the year 3000?” Some were even more direct: “This wouldn't exactly be the year,” they noted, “to give her a toaster oven.” Coyly, the ads captured a joint fascination with the new millennium and the enduring allure of diamonds. How better to capture time than with a diamond, they urged. How better to herald eternal love? Indeed. According to analysts, U.S. diamond sales (30% of which occurred during the Christmas season) were expected to surge by more than 10%, hitting a high of over $20 billion for 1999.2 A significant portion of this windfall would flow to De Beers, one of the world’s most successful corporations and the controlling force of the international diamond market. There were many ironies behind De Beers’s millennial campaign, not least of which was that diamonds...
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... | |Nom des étudiants |Chioderoli Christophe | | |Clavel Antoine | | |Curot Maxime | | |Hyvrier Sylvain | | |Russo Arnaud | | |Streiff Pauline | |Date |09.12.2011 | CAS DE BEERS [pic] Sommaire 1. Identifiez les influences structurelles dans l’environnement de De Beers. 2. À l’aide du modèle des 5(+1) forces de Porter, identifiez les facteurs clés de succès dans l’industrie du diamant. Lesquelles de ces forces ont connu les plus fortes variations ? 3. Considérez-vous que De Beers dispose de ressources uniques et de compétences distinctives ? La valeur de ces ressources et compétences est-elle croissante ou décroissante ? 4. Comment s’appelle le mouvement stratégique correspondant à l’ouverture de boutiques par De Beers ? Qu’est-ce qui justifie cette stratégie ? D’après...
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